Dark Destiny Part 1
by amber75
Summary: Padme is a prisoner on an Imperial Cruiser. She reflects on the events of the past few years. During the story, she is joined in her imprisonment by a friend. This short story is really just setting the stage for Part 2, which will be much longer. Sin
1. Default Chapter

Padme stood near the doorway of a large holding cell on an Imperial cruiser. Her cell was at the end of the hallway, which gave her a good view. She could see all the way to the bridge at the opposite end of the ship. She looked through the force field into the hallway, looking for some sign of activity. There was none. There hadn't been since the ship landed the day before. She had no idea where she was or why they had stopped here.

She went back to the table and sat down with a sigh. She'd really gotten herself into a mess this time. The Emperor had known just what it would take to get her to come out of hiding. She thought back to a time when she had trusted that man, from her own home planet of Naboo. She had sought his council time and again, as Queen of Naboo and as a senator. It made her angry! _How could none of us see what he really was?_

Padme still couldn't quite believe how quickly the Republic had been warped into the horror it was today. Fear, intimidation, murder and anger had gripped the entire galaxy. Most of those who still believed in justice and goodness were too afraid to speak up. The price for speaking out, for "treason" against the Empire, was death. So much death…Resistance was being stamped out. The Jedi were being hunted down and slaughtered. There weren't many of them left.

That last thought brought a lump to her throat. The fate of one of those few remaining Jedi was why she had come out of hiding. She had been staying in a small apartment on Alderaan to be near her daughter, Leia. Leia was being raised by Bail Organa and his wife. She had tried to visit her daughter whenever she could – always secretly. It wrenched her heart to think of her children having to be taken from her for their own safety. She tried to keep her focus off of her children. She couldn't take the chance that her thoughts could be used against her, against them.

She was forcing herself to think of other things when she heard the clanging of boots. _Stormtroopers_, she thought. Then a feeling of dread started to grip her and send shivers down her spine. She forced herself to get up and move towards the force field. Then she saw him…


	2. Dark Destiny Pt 1 Ch 2

Padme froze. She saw the tall, black figure enter the ship. She heard his mechanical breathing. He turned to look at her and started down the hall towards her cell. Her breath caught in her throat. A jumble of emotions swept through her. Blinding hatred. Horror. Pain. Disgust. And remnants of love.

They just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. She wished she could see his face! If she could just look into the eyes of Anakin, the man she had loved, her husband. But she knew that the eyes were changed. The man was changed. _No. Not changed. Anakin is dead. This is NOT Anakin!_

Darth Vader finally spoke up, his voice mechanical and evil. "My Master was right about you. He knew you would come out of hiding for him!" He spit out the last word as if it were a curse. "When will you see him for what he is? He is a weak failure! He isn't worth your loyalty! He wasn't worth mine!"

With that, he spun around and walked away. Padme hadn't been able to get a word out. She realized that she hadn't been breathing. She let out the breath that had been stuck in her throat. She felt utter revulsion. There was nothing left of the Anakin she had loved. She closed her eyes and thought of those beautiful, blue eyes that could hypnotize her. She thought of his smile, his laughter. Tears started to fall down her cheeks. _Oh, Anakin! Why Anakin? Why wasn't my love enough for you?_

She shook herself. She couldn't allow herself to get caught up in the despair again. She paced the cell. She knew Vader was going to take her to the Emperor. What did the Emperor want from her? Did he just want to make an example of her? Did he want to publicly execute her as he'd done so many others?

Her thoughts turned to him again. _Where is he? Is he all right?_ Even as she asked, she knew the answer. She knew he wasn't all right or at least wouldn't be for long. She knew he was the main target. The Imperial news had announced that he had been captured. She had seen the announcement on the holovid in her apartment on Alderaan. One of the Emperor's cronies in the so-called Senate had appeared. "This message is for one of my former colleagues, Padme Amidala. I know you're out there somewhere. I regret to inform you that Obi-Wan Kenobi has been captured. If you do not turn yourself in immediately, he will be executed. Slowly and very painfully executed. If you value this Jedi's life at all, you will do your duty by him!"

She had sat there in front of her holovid with her hand clamped over her mouth. She had wanted to scream! She had known that she couldn't ignore what she had heard. She had gone to Bail Organa to inform him that she was going to turn herself in. He had been dead-set against it. "You're walking into a trap, Padme!" Padme had felt the same way, but had steeled her features. "I'm going, Bail. I can't sit back and do nothing!"

Padme had then gone to see Leia one more time before leaving. She had held her precious four-year-old daughter in her arms and wondered if she would ever see her again. She had held her close, singing to her and kissing her sweet little face. Leia had seemed to feel her mother's sadness and had cried with her. Padme had wiped away her daughter's tears and had given her a smile filled with her love. Finally, she had given her back to the nurse maid and left for the transport.

She had disguised herself as a traveling peasant. She had put on a blond wig and raggedy clothes. She had thought that if she looked like she was poor and insignificant, maybe the Stormtroopers would leave her alone. She had wrapped herself in her cloak. Bail Organa had made traveling papers for her, giving her the name of Onliy Nabirm. No transport station, no spaceport was without Stormtroopers anymore. Anyone traveling had to have papers. She had planned to turn herself in, but not there on Alderaan. She had wanted no connections to be made with her and that planet.

She had made it past the Stormtroopers and onto the transport with no problem. She had decided to get off at a small trading port and turn herself in there. She had removed her disguise and turned herself in at the Imperial Headquarters there. The Imperial cruiser she was in now had picked her up and taken her quickly away. That's when she had found out that Obi-Wan had never been captured. She had bought the lie hook, line and sinker. The pilots of the ship had enjoyed taunting her with that fact. They had traveled only half a day when the cruiser landed at the place she was now. She now knew that this stop had been to meet up with Vader. _Buy why aren't we leaving? Vader's been onboard for a couple of hours now._

She found out why an hour later…


	3. Dark Destiny Pt 1 Ch 3

Padme was at the table, poking at the food a droid had brought her. All of a sudden, she heard a commotion and boots walking up the ramp of the ship. She hopped up and went to the doorway. A few Stormtroopers were at the entrance to the ship. One pointed down towards her. "Put him in the cell with her."

She then saw more troopers appear, carrying a person. The person, wrapped in a cloak, was being carried upside down by his arms and legs. Following behind them was a bounty hunter. She watched the troopers as they carried the person towards her cell. She was grabbed by another sense of dread. They turned off the force field and threw the person onto the floor, face down. She watched as they left again, reinstating the force field. She saw that further down the hall, Vader was conversing with the bounty hunter.

She looked down at the body on the floor. She knelt down and moved her hand towards the hood of the cloak. She hesitated and steeled herself before pulling the hood back. She gasped when she saw her dear friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi's face. His hands and feet were in binders, his hands behind his back. She rolled him onto his side so she could check him for wounds. There was a large gash over his eye and the side of his face was bruised. There were small blaster burns on his skin and his clothes – near misses. He was obviously drugged, but hadn't gone down without a fight. Obi-Wan Kenobi never went down without a fight!

She heard footsteps coming towards the cell. Vader. He had Obi-Wan's light saber in his hand. White hot rage seared through her as a realization struck her. They had used her as bait to get Obi-Wan! She had walked right into their trap and endangered her friend. She wanted to claw at the force field, get through it and attack that, that machine! _No, he's worse than a machine! He's pure evil! _She forced herself to calm down She could feel the hatred emanating from Vader, aimed at the man lying on the floor.

"It looks like my former Master has failed yet again. He is so predictable! We knew he would try to come for you," Vader hissed.

Padme looked up at him with stony, brown eyes. "No, Vader. YOU are the failure! He would never turn to the dark side as you did!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, if I were you. My Master can be very convincing."

Padme took in a sharp breath. "That's why he wants Obi-Wan so bad! He wants to add his power to the dark side!"

"Bah! We don't need his pathetic powers!"

She smiled a grim smile. "Oh, yes you do. The Emperor wants Obi-Wan on his side. He's given you orders to bring Obi-Wan to him, alive. Otherwise, you wouldn't have bothered to capture him. You would have killed him, as you tried to kill him before!"

"Believe what you want to believe." He waved his hand. "He won't be needing those anymore." Obi-Wan's binders came off. With that, he walked away.

Padme looked down at her friend. She went and got a napkin from the table and dipped it in her cup of water. She sat back down beside Obi-Wan. She worked his cloak off of him and rolled him onto his back. She dabbed at the gash above his eye and the burns on his skin.

She sighed and brushed a lock of his ginger hair off of his forehead. Just then, she felt the ship take off. _Well, we're on our way. What are we in for, Obi-Wan?_


	4. Dark Destiny Pt 1 Ch 4

Padme remained on the floor beside Obi-Wan. She looked at his still form. She took in his handsome, bearded face. She moved him and placed his head in her lap. She lightly ran her fingers along the worry lines around his eyes. It broke her heart to see him like this, to know that it was her fault he had been captured. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and blinked away her tears.

Back when Anakin was still Anakin, she and Obi-Wan had both noticed the changes starting to occur in him. Obi-Wan had not been pleased, to say the least, with Anakin for marrying Padme. He had seen it as a betrayal of the Jedi Order. She had been the one to break the news to Obi-Wan.

She had come back to Coruscant after she and Anakin were married to attend to her duties as a senator. The Jedi Council had not thought it wise and Anakin had hated the idea. But she was a strong-willed person. She had wanted to fulfill her duties to Naboo, no matter what.

She and Anakin had stolen moments together whenever they could. Almost immediately, she had started to sense Anakin changing. He had started to become restless and frustrated. He had started to lose his temper more and more, though rarely with her. But the Clone Wars had taken both him and Obi-Wan away for months at a time. They had been the best pilots, the best fighters in the Republic. Obi-Wan had been heralded as the greatest general. Anakin had became a household name. His escapades on the battlefield had become legendary.

Each time when Anakin and Obi-Wan had come back from those battles, she would find her husband more changed. He had become more…arrogant. But it had been more than arrogance, there had been an underlying danger in it. He had become suspicious, even paranoid. Anger always seemed to be boiling just beneath the surface. Sometimes the look on his face and in his eyes had given her the chills.

It had been during one of their first few respites back on Coruscant when Padme had decided to talk to Obi-Wan. She had wanted to know if he had been sensing the same things about Anakin. She had needed his counsel. And she had known that she had to be completely honest with Obi-Wan about everything.

Obi-Wan had been surprised at the news of their marriage. He had told her that Anakin had to have extremely well built mental shields to keep that knowledge away from their Master/Padawan bond. That fact, in and of itself, disturbed him greatly. But it had also confirmed what he was beginning to sense about Anakin – Anakin was dismissing more and more of the Jedi Code.

Padme had confided all of her observations and fears to Obi-Wan about her changing husband. Part of her had almost hoped he would tell her that there was nothing to worry about, that Anakin was still the sweet, loving soul he used to be. But those small hopes were dashed. Obi-Wan had been sensing it to the same degree, and even more. He had felt like Anakin was slipping further and further away from him and the Jedi. He had felt a darkness starting to form in him. He had admitted that he no longer trusted Anakin.

To hear Obi-Wan say he no longer trusted Anakin had been devastating to Padme. It had put into words what she had not been able to say herself. She had gotten to the point where she didn't trust him anymore either. She did trust Obi-Wan. He had always been a calm, strong, steady presence. She had been very glad to have his counsel and his friendship.

Padme, still sitting on the floor with Obi-Wan, then remembered her last visit with him before he and Anakin had left for the battles of the Outer Rim. She had known they would be gone for many months. She had desperately needed to tell him something. Obi-Wan had been able to sense her distress immediately.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Padme, what is it?"

"I'm pregnant, Obi!"

Obi-Wan's face fell.

"I haven't told Anakin. Something told me not to. He's been a different person altogether since you got back from the last battles. His eyes no longer have any warmth. He never smiles anymore. I can feel a cloud of anger around him. It's almost suffocating, Obi!" She was pacing back and forth in front of Obi-Wan. She stopped her pacing and looked into his eyes. "This should be happy news! But all I feel is dread! Why am I feeling like this?" She broke down, holding her face in her hands.

Obi-Wan held her close, tears coming to his own eyes. She clung to him like a life-saver. "It's my fault, Padme."

Padme stopped and looked into Obi-Wan's eyes in surprise. "Your fault? How in the world is this your fault?"

"I trained him. I knew that he had a hard time controlling his emotions, but nothing I did helped. I wasn't a strong enough teacher."

"Anakin's choices are his own, Obi-Wan. You have been a wonderful Master to him. Besides, weren't you the one who warned Qui-Gon that he was dangerous to train? Didn't you only take on Anakin's training because Qui-Gon made you promise you would? Didn't you tell me that you had told the Jedi Council, more than once, that you were worried about Anakin's arrogance and lack of emotional control?"

"Yes, but…"

Padme cut him off. "But nothing! Anakin is his own person. You can't force him to learn and you can't force him to make the right choices."

Obi-Wan smiled faintly. "I thought I was supposed to be comforting you right now."

Padme squeezed his arm and offered a small smile. "You have. You've been a constant source of support since I told you about my marriage to Anakin. The least I can do is return the favor."

Obi-Wan decided to get back to the subject at hand. "Padme, I wish I could tell you that your feelings about your pregnancy are unwarranted, but I can't…" He stopped and looked into her eyes. "Do you trust me, Padme?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

"Good." He led her to sit down. He sat down beside her and took her hand. "I also sense great danger in telling Anakin. He must not know! Don't tell anyone about your pregnancy! Hide it. Do whatever you can to disguise it as long as you can. I will send you a healer that I know and trust. She will watch over you and make sure your pregnancy is a healthy one. She will act as one of your handmaids. She will be the only other one to know. I will find a way to come back from the Outer Rim as soon as I can. We will decide what to do at that time."

Padme nodded her head in resignation….


	5. Dark Destiny Pt 1 Ch 5

Obi-Wan had kept his word. He had come back for her four months later. During that time, Anakin had left the Jedi Order for good, renouncing the light for the dark. Anakin had abandoned every part of his old life, including her. Those four months waiting for Obi-Wan had been the most miserable of her life. She had felt so alone! She had mourned the husband who was still alive, but completely changed. She had mourned the brevity of their happiness. She had mourned for her children (as she had found out that she was carrying twins) and what their future would bring. She had mourned for the dying Republic. Chancellor Palpatine had managed to whittle away at the powers of the Senate, all the while increasing his by leaps and bounds. The Senate no longer functioned. Almost all the senators had been bought by Palpatine or were too afraid to question him.

When Obi-Wan got back, she had never been so happy to see anyone in her life! He had talked with Yoda to get his counsel on the situation. They decided that she should resign her position as Senator. She would go with Obi-Wan to a secret location, where he would watch over her until the children were born. She was also told that she would have to give up her children, for their own sake. The last part filled her with a despair she could hardly bear. She had to give up both of her children?

During those last four months of her pregnancy, things had gotten even worse in the galaxy. Chancellor Palpatine was revealed to be the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. His new apprentice, Darth Vader, was all that remained of a left-for-dead Anakin. Obi-Wan had had to leave Padme for a while, not long after they were secured in their hiding place. He had felt Anakin's anger, his searching for his former Master. He had felt he needed to get away from Padme and confront Anakin. He had wanted to make one last effort to bring him back to the light. It had failed. Anakin had gone after Obi-Wan with a hatred and intensity that blotted out any glimmer of the light that might have still been in him. It was a duel that had seemed to last forever. Anakin may have been more powerful, but he was not nearly as controlled or experienced as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The more Obi-Wan had beaten back his attacks, the angrier and sloppier Anakin had become. Obi-Wan finally won the battle by knocking his former padawan into an active volcano. He had thought Anakin to be dead...

He had gone back to Padme needing a lot of medical care. He had many burns, gashes, bruises and deep wounds. He had been able to heal himself somewhat through the Force, but he was still in pretty bad shape. He was supposed to be the one taking care of her, but she ended up taking care of him, at least for a while. Padme knew that she never would have been able to make it through those times without Obi-Wan's steady support and friendship. They had bonded on a deep level during that time. Obi-Wan had still been blaming himself for Anakin's descent into darkness. He had picked up the mantle of blaming himself for all that was going wrong in the galaxy. Obi-Wan had been very unfair to himself. She had tried to remind him that he was taking on a burden that was not his. She had done what she could to comfort him and assure him that she didn't blame him in any way. They had started healing together.

Six months after the children were born, it was Obi-Wan who had the duty to give them away. He suggested Bail Organa of Alderaan, who was a friend, to raise the girl. He also suggested that Padme hide out on Alderaan, so that she could at least see little Leia from time to time. Yoda and Obi-Wan, together, came up with Tatooine for Luke. They thought that Anakin's step-family, the Lars', would be good to raise the boy. Anakin had hated Tatooine and the memories there. They doubted he would ever return there. Almost as soon as those precious little ones were in Padme's life, they were taken away. She had cherished every moment with her children and with Obi-Wan those six months. But it had ended so fast. Bail Organa took Leia and saw to hiding Padme on Alderaan while Obi-Wan took Luke to Tatooine.

Padme remembered that time while Obi-Wan was gone with a shudder. The walls of despair surrounding her had been oppressive. Obi-Wan had gone back and stayed with Padme on Alderaan for a while. He had wanted to help her through the trauma she was enduring. She had hardly let Obi-Wan out of her sight for a minute! He had become her lifeline. When he finally had to leave again for Tatooine, both had thought that they would never see each other again. It was the hardest goodbye she had ever had to make. He was taking her heart with him. She could tell that he had felt the same way.

She had clung to the light of his friendship. That's what Obi-Wan was – he was light. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would be light until the very end. He would never give in to the dark!

But even as Padme sat on the floor, stroking Obi-Wan's hair, a shudder went through her as she thought about what the Emperor might do to Obi-Wan to try and get him to the dark side. Whatever was waiting for them, for him especially, she knew it wasn't good…

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for Part 2!


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